Locums spouses: Making locum tenens a family experience

From pay to schedule flexibility to new clinical experiences, locum tenens offers physicians interesting professional opportunities that may not be easily accessible in a permanent position. However, the career alternative presents couples and families with less-traditional choices about how to fit short-term contracts into their personal lives. For example, does being married to a locums physician add more stress to family life, or does it provide a reprieve from the daily rigors of balancing a practice with personal relationships?

The answer is that locum tenens offers couples and families a variety of options. Keep reading to learn how three doctors and their spouses found a way for locum tenens to benefit their marriages and families.

The Flagels travel as a family

After years of working with a private practice group, Dr. Jeremy Flagel, self-diagnosed the onset of physician burnout, attributing the condition to exorbitant hours and paperwork. Tired of the situation, the psychiatrist began researching ways to halt further burnout both at work and home.

“We started exploring locums because it was a way of escaping and figuring out what we wanted the next chapter to be,” he recalls.

In 2014, when his sons were ages one and three, Dr. Flagel began accepting locum tenens assignments full-time. He and his wife, Heather, agreed the career alternative offered their family unprecedented access to communities they probably never would have considered visiting, much less living in full-time. It also empowered Dr. Flagel to take control over his hours.

Dr. Jeremy Flagel, Heather Flagel and sons

“We transitioned from him being in a very busy, intense practice to working locums and suddenly having a lot more time as a family. That was really, really lovely,” says Heather. “Locums was very low stress, which carried over to the whole family life.”

To meet their family’s changing needs as the boys grew into school-age, the Flagels strategically selected longer assignments to coincide with the academic calendar. It also meant their oldest son attended three different schools in three states in as many years.

“He’s a bright, social kid who’s been able to adapt to new situations,” notes Dr. Flagel.

More recently, the family opted to set up a permanent home in southern California where Dr. Flagel is establishing a new practice. To supplement income, he continues to accept occasional temporary contracts, but Heather and the boys stay home…most of the time.

“Last summer he was on assignment in Oregon, and we were able to tag along for a family vacation,” she says.

The Mangiones sail through assignments

Dr. Robin Mangione and Michael Mangione

Inspired by the story of a young lady sailing solo around the world, Dr. Robin Mangione and her husband, Michael, added sailing around North America to their bucket list. Instead of waiting until retirement to make their dream come true, the family practice physician signed up for locum tenens.

“Since I’ve been working with Weatherby Healthcare, we’ve logged more than 5,000 miles on the sailboat, all at seven miles an hour,” she says.

The self-taught sailors have voyaged around the Caribbean, Florida Keys, and up to Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, oftentimes docking the boat for extended periods.

In addition to satisfying a wish-list item, the lifestyle has created more time for the couple to spend together, an objective that previously proved elusive.

“We’re best friends, so we want to hang out with each other,” says Michael, who retired from a healthcare career before setting sail. “When I was working in a hospital and she was working in a hospital full-time, we could be like two ships that passed in the night. She’d be gone for long periods of time even though we were in the same town.”

Thanks to locum tenens, the Mangiones now spend more time together, even though it may not be on a daily basis. If a contract is near the marina, Dr. Mangione returns to the boat after each shift, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes she’ll take a position requiring additional travel. In those cases, she’ll return for long weekends, or Michael may join her so he can sight-see and explore a location. And, of course, there are breaks between contracts.

“There are weeks when I’m not doing anything but hanging out with my husband. We’ll move the boat during those times or go see some other places. It’s still some separation, but we get to pick and choose it,” she says.

The Fryes finally find together time

In more than 30 years as an obstetrician/gynecologist, Dr. Jeffrey Frye, served a variety of communities, from an Army base in Germany, to a solo practice in a rural town, to a large healthcare organization. What each position had in common was a hefty demand on his time, including superseding family activities.

Dr. Jeffrey Frye, Nancy Frye and family

“With the children, he missed so many things that were important, but it’s the way it is. Patients take precedent over everything,” comments his wife, Nancy.

Now that Dr. Frye is easing into semi-retirement with locum tenens, they’re both looking forward to having a more flexible schedule that will guarantee the couple, married 42 years, more time together.

In terms of choosing which assignments best match his skills and objectives, Dr. Frye gives the biggest input on clinical criteria, but Nancy has a say too. For example, when she discovered a possibility for him to be assigned to Hawaii, her response was definitive because it meant a chance to visit their son and his family, stationed on Oahu.

“The minute he said ‘Kona,’ I said, ‘Let’s take it,’” recalls Nancy. “We would be about a 30-minute flight from them and our two little granddaughters opposed to a 10-hour flight.”

Of course, what works for one couple or family may not fit another, but with the locum tenens lifestyle, you’re not bound to long-term contracts. Decisions of whether loved ones join the doctor on assignment, stay home and video chat, or find a different solution can be based on what will benefit your marriage and family most.

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About the author

Anne Baye Ericksen

Anne Baye Ericksen is a journalist and locum tenens subject-matter expert with more than two decades of experience. She was a regular contributor to LocumLife, Healthcare Traveler and Healthcare Staffing and Management Solutions magazines.